Tip of the day for the rest of your days...

Monday mornings suck. Especially if you have to go to school or work. And for many of us, we don't want to get out of bed. Here's a simple fix: As soon as you wake up, open your curtains and let the bright sunlight flow into your room. 

Researchers in the UK found that exposure to bright lights after a night of sleep increased cortisol levels in the body which boosted feelings of wakefulness. 

Although this may sound like common sense, sometimes getting out of bed can be so difficult we'll just sleep through classes or call in sick for work. Also, I'm sure many of us do turn on the lights to wake ourselves unconsciously. But instead, try to make a conscious effort to open up your blinds when you're really struggling to wake up. This simple solution will save you from future headaches and possibly your job too! 

Tip of the day for the rest of your days...

If you're still having a hard time sleeping at night, then it may be an underlying iron deficiency in the blood. Check with your doctor to see if you have an iron deficiency.

A lack of iron in the blood results in a lack of hemoglobin in the blood which carries oxygen to every part of the body. A lack of iron will result in disturbed sleep since the body isn't getting enough oxygen to function properly. Even in your sleep, your body needs a steady flow of oxygen to keep it in a state of relaxation. 

Blood needs a combination of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 in order to function properly. A deficiency in any of these three will result in anemia. Some symptoms people will experience other than lack of sleep are:

- Lack of energy

- Pale skin

- Head rush from low blood pressure

- Headaches

- Immunity function decrease

So what can you do? Iron can be prescribed by your doctor or you can purchase it at a nutrition store. The others you can find at a nutrition store. Take iron before you go to bed and vitamin B12 in the morning. Remember to keep your dosages consistent and make sure to speak to your family doctor before starting any treatment. 

Tip of the day for the rest of your days...

This one comes out of the vault. A banana a day will keep the therapist away.

When one is feeling depressed, stressed and experiencing restless nights, levels of serotonin may be deficient. Serotonin is what regulates and promotes stabilization in the activities of the brain often leaving us relaxed. A banana is packed with minerals and vitamins and more specifically something called tryptophan. Tryptophan is converted by the body into serotonin and thus alleviating symptoms of depression. Bananas also contain vitamin B6 which helps calm the nerves when you're stressed out.

Due to the relaxation effect of bananas, insomniacs can rest easy! ALSO, bananas leave you feeling full and therefore, yes, aids in weight loss. 

So today, have a banana with your breakfast and take a banana or two to work or school. Enjoy!

Tip of the day for the rest of your days...

So now that you're on your way to fixing your sleeping habits, it's time to take care of the dark bags under your eyes. This is an easy one! Remember the chamomile tea you used as a sleeping aid? Make sure to save your tea bags and let them sit in cold water. Before you go to bed, place the cool chamomile tea bags over your eyes for 10 minutes. This will remove the dark circles and diminish the puffiness under your eyes. 2 birds 1 stone, just like that! Leave the panda look to the real pandas.

Dark circles appear under the eyes for several reasons and one being the lack of sleep. The skin under your eyes are the thinnest on the body. The dark bluish colour is caused by broken capillaries in the eye lids. When you aren't giving your body and internal organs time to rest, it has to work over time and can result in these broken capillaries which show through the thin skin.

Now, if you're allergic to ragweeds and cannot use chamomile tea bags, there are many alternative methods for dark puffy eyes. But here are two simple alternatives:

1. Almond oil: Apply almond oil before bed using your ring finger. The skin under your eyes are very delicate. Strong pulling and pressure will lead to premature wrinkles. Your ring finger is normally the weakest finger and therefore will not put as much pressure on the skin under your eyes.

2. Cucumber slices soaked in salt water: Place soaked cucumbers over eyes for 10 minutes. Keep your eyes closed.

Tip of the day for the rest of your days...

How many times have you tried to get a good night's rest before a final exam or a job interview or on just a regular work/school day? How many of you have experienced a sense of anxiety not being able to sleep before an important day? And how often has that anxiety made it tougher for you to fall asleep? Insomnia sucks! But don't worry, there's an easy fix for it. Chamomile tea. Sip a glass of chamomile tea an hour before bed to calm your nerves and it will put you into a state of full relaxation. Your anxieties will just melt away and in no time you'll be dreaming of acing that exam! Happy sleeping!

Chamomile contains relaxants that act as depressants to calm the nerves. It has also been found to help metabolize caffeine consumed throughout the day. Chamomile also works as an anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer herb. 

*Note: Like anything else, use chamomile in moderation. Frequent use may decrease its effectiveness. Insomnia can be caused by many factors. It is in your best interest to figure out what is keeping you awake and fixing the root of the problem. Other causes of insomnia may be high or low blood pressure, low hemoglobin levels, hormonal changes, depression etc.

If you're allergic to ragweed, chamomile may not be your best option. Instead, just try the old-fashioned method of warm milk and if you're lactose, you can always try to remove certain stimulus' such as a tv, computer, cellphone etc. Removing a wall clock or flipping over an alarm clock may also help prevent anxiety from arising when constantly checking the time. Chamomile users should also use these methods to enhance the sleeping aid.

Sidenote: I am currently studying a special massage technique developed by Dr. Bin Jiang Wu called Wu's Head Massage (WHM). This technique is specialized towards cosmetic anti-aging and migraine and insomnia suffering patients. If anyone is interested and would like more information about WHM, please leave me a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Tip of the day for the rest of your days...

Photo credits: Natalie Chung

Feeling hungry before bedtime? Don't try to chow down on a full meal. Instead, take a scoop or two of peanut butter. Give your stomach a break, sleep easy and you'll wake up the next day ready to take on the day!

Every organ in the body needs time to rest but when you eat just before bed, your stomach has no time to rest and will need to work throughout the night to digest that food. Not only will you wake up the next day with puffy eyes and a puffy face but you'll also find yourself dozing off throughout the day.